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The Sportswoman Dissenting Voices: The Discourse of Competition in The Sportswoman Ly n n E. C o u t u r ie r 1 Physical Education Department State University o f New York, Cortland In the 1920s, the appropriateness o f competition fo r women became contested among educators and the public. In order to avoid the problems associated with mens highly competitive athletics, many women physical educators sought to de- emphasize competition and promote simple participation. According to sport historian Roberta Park, these women were “searching fo r a middle ground" in the debate. There was, however, another group o f women whose position dis­ sentedfrom the polarized positions ofthe public as well as those who promoted the “middle ground” when it came to womens competition. These women were the editorial staff o/The Sportswoman, which was a periodical on womens sport published from 1924 to 1936. While the editors included multiple per­ spectives on womens competition, their own position was frequently in direct conflict with some o f the other contributors. This paper highlights the overt and covert strategies used in the magazine to promote the acceptability o f women’s competition in sport. T h e author is indexed to the archives at Springfield College anc Bryn Mawr, as well as the library at Smith College, for her source material and their generous assistance. Correspondence to [email protected]. The Sportswoman ( TSW) was a periodical published from 1924 to 1936, ini­ tially as the communication vehicle of the United States Field Hockey Association (USFHA). Although its content expanded dramatically to include many different sports played by women, it retained a core element devoted to field hockey throughout most of its publica­ tion. TSW provided coverage o f womens club, college, and elite level sport; offered in­ structional tips for coaching and teaching; and profiled prominent women athletes and physical educators of the era. It should be noted that the content of 7'5Wstrongly reflected socio-economic status, with the coverage of womens athletics being closely aligned with middle- and upper-class sporting interests.1 The magazines target audiences were club sport players and women physical educa­ tors. Its authors came from similar backgrounds— primarily female and generally associ­ ated with womens sport organizations and colleges (physical educators or students). Of­ ten the authors were women athletes from the national and international ranks in sports such as tennis, golf, field hockey, and figure skating. TSW served as a professional develop­ ment tool for women physical educators, a cheerleader for field hockey and womens ath­ letics, and as a forum (sometimes explicit, sometimes implicit) for issues in womens sport.2 At the time of TSW s inaugural issue, women’s sport was growing in overall popular­ ity, but it was a somewhat uneven growth. Social forces such as class, race, and regional differences all influenced the type of sport that was available to women.3 Middle- and upper-class women typically engaged in sport associated with club or college settings. Individual sports, such as golf, tennis, swimming, and equestrian events were popular, but team sports such as field hockey, lacrosse, and basketball (modified rules) could also be found, particularly in colleges. Working class and minority women were engaging in sports like basketball, track and field, and bowling organized through community organizations or recreational and industrial leagues. Elite level competition in several individual sports (skating, swimming, tennis, and golf) was already taking place. In addition, industrial sports were beginning to sponsor a few national championships for women.4 This growth in sport opportunities reflected a more general expansion of women into traditionally male roles following World War I along with women’s suffrage in 1920.5 Changing expectations for gender roles were being negotiated in the workplace and social spaces as well as in sport. As athletes, women challenged notions of what competitive sport had historically been—a proving ground for masculinity. How then, were women to be assimilated into an athletic culture?6 The key question, according to historian Martha Verbrugge, was, “Would athletics promote competitiveness and muscularity, while erod­ ing grace and refinement?”7 These concerns were of particular importance to women physical educators, who had long labored to establish themselves as leaders in women’s physical education and sport.8 They sought to define what was appropriate for women’s sport participation and that meant staying within the boundaries of conventional femi­ ninity.9 Such propriety generally involved feminine attire; participation for all girls, not just the athletically talented; activity supervised by female leadership; and no commercial­ ization of the sport experience. Although women physical educators were highly successful in controlling women’s sport in schools and colleges, their influence was limited in recreational, industrial, and elite level sport. When the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) went forward with its plan to send a womens track and field team to the Olympics, many female physical educators believed that the AAU overstepped its bounds. In 1923, the women banded together to form the Womens Division of the National Amateur Athletic Federation (WDNAAF) in order to consolidate their control over athletics for women and girls, particularly in schools and colleges.10 The primary objective of the WDNAAF was to de-emphasize competition for women, and their platform became highly influential in the education sector. As Roberta Park has pointed out, their stance should not be judged without consideration for the context of their actions.11 At the time, there was widespread concern about the well-documented abuses in mens athletics, which included recruiting scandals, dubious eligibility status of many players, exploitation of athletes, and commercialization of sport. The womens con­ cerns were shared by many male physical educators, who also wanted to avoid the prob­ lems in men’s organized athletics and provide sport opportunities for all. De-emphasizing the competitive aspects of sport would keep young women safe from the perils of the mens model while minimizing potential criticism that sport would “masculinize” women. In a sense, these women physical educators were “searching for a middle ground,” that is, a way to promote participation of girls and women without the problems associated with highly competitive athletics.12 Indeed, publications of the period reflected this “middle ground” position. According to women’s sport historian Stevie Chepko, the first twenty years of the Spauldings Womens Basketball Guides emphasized cooperation and the social virtues of basketball for women while minimizing its competitive aspects.13 A leading publication for physical education professionals, the American Physical Education Review (APEJ?), carried many articles that discussed the “problem” of girls’ athletics.14 The “problem” was generally too much em­ phasis on competition, and the suggested remedy involved limiting competition to inter­ class or play day events, preferably under the trained leadership of women physical educa­ tors. Mabel Lee, who became the first woman president of the American Physical Educa­ tion Association (APEA), conducted a study of the status of intercollegiate competition for women. This study was published in APER and provides an example of the desire to limit competitive opportunities. She reported that among the survey respondents with experience in intercollegiate competition for women 93 percent opposed it. Similarly, in “Women’s Athletics—All Uses— No Abuses,” Agnes Wayman, member of the Executive Committee of the WDNAAF and vice president of the APEA, stated, “[M]ost of us are agreed that inter-competition is wrong—even under ideal health supervision.” Ethel Perrin, a founder and member of the WDNAAF, spoke for most women physical educators of the time when she said the WDNAAF “did not believe an inclusive program and a selective one can be successfully carried out at the same time in any group and it casts its vote unanimously for the one which provides equal opportunities for health and joy to all girls.”15 For most women physical educators, highly competitive athletics could not coex­ ist with sport for the masses, and the latter was far more important to them. Given that the readership and authorship of TSW was comprised primarily of women athletes and women physical educators, it is not surprising many facets of the discourse on competition were presented within its pages. Indeed, the magazine’s strong affiliation with field hockey presented a continuous and subversive tension surrounding competition. On the one hand, field hockey was considered an appropriate and non-controversial sport for women as it was played predominandy by women (at least in the United States). It had not been sullied by masculine play, leaving women free to run full field without the con­ straints of modified rules.16 On the other hand, club and elite level competition was a significant element of USFHA field hockey, organized through association, sectional, and national level tournaments. This high level competition was actively promoted through­ out the magazine.17 Through the news, images, editorials, and instructional advice the magazine con­ tained, TSW conducted a revealing dialogue about what was gender appropriate competi­ tion. If, as Park asserts, the position
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